This invention relates to a magnetic tracker for tracking the orientation and position of a helmet used by vehicle operators in such vehicles as tanks, planes, etc. Trackers are well known in the present area of technology and the operation of a tracker is described in references U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,809 by Egli et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,305 by Blood, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,565 by Kuipers. However, metal fixed in the operator area can provide erroneous values so that an accurate reading of the correct position and orientation of the operator cannot be made.
Presently, a known method to take care of this problem is to map the electromagnetic effects of metal in the operator area. Mapping is representing the magnetic field with a mathematical model. The magnetic field of the area is mapped and the data is used by the tracker to compute accurate position and orientation. Mapping is very cumbersome. It takes a great amount of time and requires numerous pieces of equipment and personnel to map the area correctly. This costs time and money. It would be beneficial to find a way to improve upon the current methods so that time can be saved as well as equipment and personnel.